Wednesday, February 10, 2016

What are the steps in a child custody mediation process?

How a Divorce Lawyer can Help

(Albany, New York) – February 10th, 2016 – When parents separate, child custody is often a fiercely contested issue and the hardest to resolve. Have you see The Wire? If you have seen The Wire, the first season, you know this to be true with the problems Jimmy McNulty was having with his wife.

Moreover, this is because both the parents love the children and are seldom satisfied with visitation rights and other arrangements thrust upon them in a divorce. Resolutions often become farfetched because both the parents are eager to play greater roles in their children’s lives. The best way to solve these differences is through mediation and divorce lawyers in Albany, NY (Divorce.USAttorneys-Albany) know this to be mainly true.


What does Mediation entail?

Divorcing couples often take recourse to mediation to solve disagreements involving critical issues such as child support, division of property, and alimony. For the most part, a mediator is a neutral person the spouses hire and in most cases they are litigators experienced in family law and have received specialized legal training to act as mediators. New York divorce attorneys know that a mediator does not decide on any of the matters but helps both spouses arrive at a favorable decision.

Prepare Yourself before Your Child Custody Mediation
  • It is important to know your legal rights and responsibilities through your legal representative before walking into the mediation.
  • Make a detailed schedule of visitation.
  • Prepare your visitation and custody proposal with the help of your legal professional.
  •  It is important to have all important records of your child with you at the meeting. These include medical records, baseball schedule, school report card, and a therapist’s report, if any, for instance.
How does child support mediation take place?

To begin with, the parents must come prepared to attend mediation with an open mind. In child custody mediation, it is important not to rake up old issues with your spouse and instigate a fight. So the steak was burned two years ago, let that go! Remember, the focus should be to present a custody plan that works in your children’s best interests. The bottom line is, come prepared to compromise with your Albany, NY divorce lawyers.

During the process the mediator will join both parents in a meeting where he/she will explain first the rules of mediation including the fact that the discussion in the meeting is strictly confidential and hence anything said in those meeting cannot be used in court as evidence. The legal representatives from both sides can be present at the meeting.

Identifying Priorities and Organizing them Accordingly

The issues concerning child custody are decided in terms of priority. For instance, if a child needs urgent medical attention, it will feature as the number one topic of discussion in the meeting. Usually five different categories are discussed such as schedules, exceptions that can disrupt the visitation schedule such vacations and holidays and the means through which the parents will communicate with one another to discuss issues regarding the kids. Communicating via Facebook is better than nothing but not ideal.

Other factors include special issues such as extracurricular activities (piano playing, playing basketball), medical treatment, private coaching, schooling, and religious training. The parents will also have to agree on a method by which any future changes to the custody documents are to be done.

Signing the Agreement

This is legally binding document so make sure you agree with all the terms before you sign the agreement.

Child support and custody are known to be the most contentious issues in a divorce. If you find yourself in a situation where you cannot agree with your spouse and need help, a divorce lawyer from New York will always be available to provide valuable assistance on every aspect of family law.

If you need assistance finding legal help in Albany, NY give us a call. You can find us right here: USAttorneys.com/NY.

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